On July 26 2011 10:33 BloodNinja wrote: The Redskins under Cerato and Snyder were most definitely under cap hell. Every season they needed to renegotiate major contracts. The end result was contracts like Clinton Portis who was owed around $15 million in guaranteed money for his final year in DC. The Redskins (among other teams) really lucked out on the with the uncapped year. They used that year to pay off massive amounts guaranteed contracts upfront.
This is what gave the Redskins the ability to cut older expensive players (like Portis) in the end. They no longer owed massive amounts of guaranteed money to these vets so they were free to cut them without cap repercussions.
As for Shannahan's decision to come to DC. Its pretty simple, Danny Boy wanted a big name coach this time around and Shannahan wanted to coach again with complete personnel control. Both of them got their wish. While Allen is the "GM", its in name only, Allen is a cap specialist who is great at fitting his coach's players into a salary cap. He is not there to control personnel like most other GMs.
For DC's FA plans, if I was Shannahan I would let Moss walk and try to get a young good reciever not named Holmes. Its gonna be hard to sell your team to a WR when you say your QB is Beck/Grossman. That said I would just go all-in on defense. I doubt there is true NT out there but there are other players that might be able to convert. I would try to emulate the Ravens SB team as much as possible, build an amazing defense and build a simple but efficient ground based offense.
On that note I will get into the Cowboys needs a bit later. They do have some holes to fill but they also has some aging vets they can trade/release to free up cap room.
PS - Who actually wants Tiki Barber? I dont think I have seen anyone burn away goodwill that fast in a while. The amount of people who want to see him fail is huge and I understand them.
1. Nah, we weren't in cap hell. Trust me i look over the figures every year and it;s surprising how it gets down. What the Redskins were particular adept at doing is guaranteeing some of the option stuff to push back a lot of the figures to subsequent years, and restructure contracts somehow that it takes money off the cap hit.
Even if 2010 were an uncapped year we still had about 20-30million to maneuver under.... we only had $109 million in cap hits prior to the season where if the CBA was ratified last year the cap would've been 136 million. So.... no cap hell.
2. Most teams backload contracts so they can cut the players when they get too expensive. That's pretty much standard... the uncapped year did help so that we could dump about $24 million of haynesworth's contract so his cap hit this year is something like only 5 million.
3. I agree in that I think that Redskins are gonna focus primarily on defense, and see what comes on offense. ZBS generally gets a fairly good run game going so they can just ball control while taking shots downfield that shanny likes. We'll see if Kyle is up for that though.
4. Allen, it seems, has been great at negotiating reasonable contracts, and maneuvering in the draft so far so we'll see. I'm pretty sure that Shanny has personel control like you said though too I guess.
5. If we were to go for a receiver I would probably say go for Sidney Rice.... but I'm pretty sure we're gonna resign Moss.
6. Pretty much expect that the next year or two are gonna be rebuild until mike/kyle get all of the personel they want.... but I am fairly optimistic overall with the direction we are going. If they could get the talent depleted and injured team to 6-10 last year we should be able to get a bit better this year with a lot of younger players and people hopefully staying injury free.
I find it particularly funny how most of the news outlets are predicting us to go like 2-14 or something like that. We will have a better defense than last year getting more people to fit the 3-4 scheme which was our major weakness, and our offense will likely click better too with another year of experience in ZBS + open competition of youth at RB +WR. The only question is QB and even QB depleted teams like teh seahawks finished at least decent last year (7-9 regular season and showed they can beat good teams in the playoffs).
There is absolutely no way we will go from 6-10 and lose 3-4 more games even if Beck is playing. Beck doesn't throw many INTs as he's more of a ball control QB anyway
7. lol @ tiki barber.... I don't think anyone will pick him up to be honest. He's an old RB and pretty much a douchebag
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO FOOOOOOOOOOTBALL!!! Lockout is over... even though I wasn't worried in the slightest it's still a relief!!!
Obviously I understand that teams back load contracts so they can cut older players later. The problem for the skins was that they also kept back loading guaranteed money. A bunch of that money was coming due around now. 2 (maybe 3 years ago) was a great example of this, the Skins were very close to cap and they were forced to renegotiate a number of salaries to give themselves more space. So yes, often times the skins had money to burn on FA b/c they had just finished pushing back increasing amounts of guaranteed money. You cannot just look at year to year numbers, you have to look at exactly what is being guaranteed to who over the next few years. i hate to keep bringing up the same person but Portis is the prime example of that. He was being paid absurd amounts of money for an overworked and past his prime RB. Additionally, the skins couldn't cut him because the salary he was owed was all guaranteed (they couldn't trade him either since no one outside of Al Davis would be stupid enough to pick up that contract either).
But meh, cap talk is boring (and pretty pointless with all the NFL's silly accounting tricks) so i guess we will have to agree to disagree as I doubt either of us will change our minds.
I still doubt the Skins keep Moss, unless he changed his mind over the lockout, he was looking for max money and I don't see Shannahan paying top dollar for Moss.
As for the Skins record, I think they hit 6-10 again this year under Beck and run heavy offense. If Rex is the starter than the Skins are shooting for the Andrew Luck sweepstakes as Rex Grossman is an unmitigated disaster. I wouldn't look to the Seahawks for hope wither as the Skins have to play Dallas, NY, and Philly twice each instead of Arizona, SF, St Louis (where Seattle went 4-2).
On July 26 2011 12:40 DannyJ wrote: The Giants should take Tiki back and make him do special teams.
The Giants are already on record as saying they are going to cut him as soon as it is allowed. They want no part of Tiki.
On July 26 2011 08:57 eshlow wrote: I'd be interested to see what kind of analysis you would see on how your guys' teams address free agency!
For the 49ers? Bleh
-Resign Alex Smith (pretty much a must at this point, he knows the playbook better than every other player on the team)
-Restructure or cut Nate Clements. His performance of late + age don't justify his expensive contract.
-Let Aubrayo Franklin go. I know he's been really good the past few years, but he's going to want one last big paycheck to cash in on and at his age (31 when the season starts) he won't be worth it. I also think his performance will dip after he's been paid. Don't get me wrong I know he's a good player, but his performance the past few years has been in contract years... yeah he's one of those guys. This kind of puts us at a hole for NT and I'm not sure if there's a really great solution for it. People have talked about moving Sopoaga back to NT, but from my understanding he played there 3-4 years ago and got shoved around.
-Resign Manny Lawson if he's affordable? He's not really a 3-4 OLB, but he's easily our most athletic LB... after Willis of course. Actually I guess he might be 3rd most athletic LB after the Aldon Smith pick. Still Smith was a DE end in college and is going to need time to adjust to being OLB so I'd like to have Lawson around.
-Chase after Asomugha, get Jonathan Joseph if outbid. Pretty much our secondary blows. Remember that play where Donald Driver trashed it?
Yeah we need help... bad. Asomugha is a man-coverage player not really a zone player and he's not the most physical corner (I think Driver would have man-handled him after he got the ball if he was in on that play for the 49ers), but he's a GAME-CHANGER. He shuts down whoever he's lined up against... how could we not want that? IF we don't get Asomugha (which we probably won't, we are the niners after all) then get Jonathan Joseph. One of the game's better corners (although not an Asomugha).
I cannot highlight how critical I think it is for the 49ers to get one of the games better cornerbacks on the FA market. Asomugha's don't really come around often on the open market and the 49ers secondary is BAD. We got torched repeatedly last year. Don't get me wrong I know that part of that not having a substantial pass-rush, but fuck our secondary blows right now. Clements and Dashon Goldson are both more physical defensive backs who are good vs the run, but are lacking somewhat in coverage. Shawnte Spencer is the very definition of mediocre and Reggie Smith sucks (except at dancing).
-Resign Dashon Goldson. I know I just got done bashing him somewhat and he is a liability in coverage, but I just can't think of anybody that would be an improvement over him on the free agent market right now? Someone help me out on this... Also I think if we shell out big $$$ to an elite cornerback, we won't really be able to shell out big $$$ for an elite anywhere else.
I'm sort of running out of steam here but let me see... offense wise? Resign everyone who are our FAs on the offense line.... we need them (I don't really know of anyone talented enough to sign in FA sorry); maybe chase after a Veteran WR to flank/teach Crabtree. I actually wouldn't mind Terrell Owens at this point, because I think he would come cheap and wouldn't bring too much of an act with him... he's been fairly quiet the past few years (at least according to TO standards). At RB we are stacked, at TE we are stacked. At FB... we still have Moran Norris right? An upgrade over him would be nice, but it's not a major necessity. I think that's about it for the 49ers.
I agree about Clements. Disagree about Franklin, if only because removing him without having a solid replacement is gonna fuck everything up. He is what allows P Willy to run wild. I'd prefer to get younger, but not at the expense of the efficency of the LB without good reason.
Agreed about Lawson.
Definitely agree about corners because goddamn the secondary was horrible... getting better on the pashrush a bit would help that somewhat, but it's largely an issue of the talent not being there in the secondary. Not so sure about Joseph. And I agree, might as well bring back Goldson without having a good replacement
On July 26 2011 12:57 BloodNinja wrote: I still doubt the Skins keep Moss, unless he changed his mind over the lockout, he was looking for max money and I don't see Shannahan paying top dollar for Moss.
As for the Skins record, I think they hit 6-10 again this year under Beck and run heavy offense. If Rex is the starter than the Skins are shooting for the Andrew Luck sweepstakes as Rex Grossman is an unmitigated disaster. I wouldn't look to the Seahawks for hope wither as the Skins have to play Dallas, NY, and Philly twice each instead of Arizona, SF, St Louis (where Seattle went 4-2).
On July 26 2011 12:40 DannyJ wrote: The Giants should take Tiki back and make him do special teams.
The Giants are already on record as saying they are going to cut him as soon as it is allowed. They want no part of Tiki.
Pretty sure Moss wants to be paid but he knows he's not top dollar. I'm pretty sure something reasonable will be done.
Seahawks was an analogy. We went 6-10 against NFCE + tough teams from last year so saying we're gonna get worse from the media is pretty amusing overall. We do get to play NFCW this year, but we also get to play AFCE which sucks. We will have to see though.
I'm pretty much expecting something along the lines of 5-10 to 8-8 or so. I will be surprised if we have a winning record, and I will be surprised if we get significantly worse (e.g. 4-10).
But yeah, I'd like to see your analysis of the Cowboys... I'm not as up to date as I should be except that you guys have a new D coordinator, and FAs of sensabaugh, free, etc.
The bears should go after plexico (adding height jumpball guy with all the speed receivers would be devasting to any defense) and maybe that dude from the vikings d-line. other than that I would like to stay put with the team we have
Allan Ball (Restricted) Alex Barron Stephen Bowen Doug Free Jason Hatcher Sam Hurd Kyle Kosier Gerald Sensabaugh Marcus Spears Leon Williams
Early thoughts on what the Cowboys need to do:
1. Fix the cap. They are over the cap roughly 18 million dollars as of this moment. They need to restructure some contracts for their big name players they want to keep (Ware, Romo, Austin). They need to cut some overpriced guys like Marion Barber, Leonard Davis, and Marc Colombo. They can position themselves well under the cap for this year, although some of the cuts may add some dead money to 2012 which could hurt their ability to sign players next year.
2. Get Rob Ryan with his players ASAP. The man knows how run a defense and the players will need to learn his system.
3. Resign Doug Free yesterday. He may not be an all-time great but he is a very solid left tackle and that is very hard spot to fill on a whim. They might also look to resign Kosier I think.
4. Sign some Safeties. Resign Ball and move him back to corner. There is a chance they resign Sesabaugh. However, if they don't they can fill the holes with a number of second tier players like a Michael Huff or Abram Elam (who played with Ryan in Cleveland).
5. Get some defensive ends. Bowen (a starter) and Hatcher (primary backup) are free agents. Olshansky is solid but nothing special. D-ends last season were definitely not a strength for the Cowboys. I think they go after Cullen Jenkins or try to resign Bowen.
Its hard getting good Cowboys info in the DC area so I have to go by what I read mostly on ESPN as I follow them. Those silly Skins take up all the time on talk radio. That said I think the Cowboys are in pretty good shape going into this year. Its not a Superbowl team imo, but, it could be a playoff contender. Offense QB: Romo will be solid RB: Felix Jones and Tashard Choice will be a nasty combo. The Cowboys had Jones add bulk over the past couple seasons and he looked slower last year and didn't appear to have that old burst. All reports are that he has cut the bulk and is lightning fast again. They also picked up Murray from Oklahoma to add some depth. WR/TE: Austin/Bryant/Witten are all threats that need to be respected. They also have good depth here behind the starters. Oline: Biggest concern for the offense. Tyron Smith can step in day 1 at RT and improve them there. They picked up a OG in the 4th round, hopefully he can add some depth if he isn't starter quality. They still need to continue to get younger/better here.
Defense Dline: Ratliff is great, but ends need to improve. Not sure what is out there or if resigning Bowen would be best. LB: Solid core here. My main concern is how long can Keith Brooking keep it up. I think one of the backups looks promising and was being groomed but its been to long to remember who it was. CB: Newman is getting older, slower, more expensive which is a concern. Michael Jenkins is fine. They need to move Allan Ball back over to CB when they resign him. Scandrick is also pretty solid. There will be rumors of the Cowboys going after Asogmwa, but that is a smoke screen imo. Safety: Biggest concern. They need to fill this void. Sesabaugh is a FA and Ball is moving back to CB. They could give Barry Church more reps, but I think this is where the Cowboys will be spending their money. They need to bring in two safeties in some form whether purely through FA or by resigning Sensabuagh and another through FA.
And that wall of text is my thoughts on the Cowboys from top to bottom.
On July 27 2011 00:10 Mattchew wrote: The bears should go after plexico (adding height jumpball guy with all the speed receivers would be devasting to any defense) and maybe that dude from the vikings d-line. other than that I would like to stay put with the team we have
but I would always take asomugha
How do you not want another OL? Carimi is a start, but he's a rookie and the line was godawful last season. Also I'm not convinced Plaxico is fast enough to keep Martz happy. Besides, he's getting up there in age. I'm personally hoping for Malcolm Floyd and stealing a lineman from Atlanta. And resigning Kreutz, Adams, and at least 2 of Tino, Roach, and Iwuh is a must.
Looks like I was right about Moss for Redskins... 3 yr/15mil. Not bad.. didn't break the bank. I don't expect us to chase a FA WR now and just go with the competition of 3-4 WR we drafted with the guys we had last year.
Hopefully we can get something for McNabb..
Ravens cutting Kelley, Heap, McGahee, Mason was pretty surprising but makes sense for them
Giants cut 3/5 of their starting Oline in Shaun O'Hara, Rich Seubert and Shawn Andrews... lol. Probably gonna resign most of them though? Who knows...
Cowboys cut Marion Barber, Leonard Davis, Roy Williams and Kris Brown... prolly Columbo too. Not too surprising
My vikings are so screwed the QB we had went to seattle. He wasnt that good but a good QB is literaly the only standing inbetween the vikings being a superbowl contending team like 2 years ago to being a shitty joke like last year.
On July 27 2011 11:53 yrba1 wrote: Rams signed former Eagles S Quintin Mikell, I'm hoping they sign Barry Cofield next (hope the Redskins don't go after him)
Doubt we will but we do need DLine help..... I don't think Cofield can play NT though which is what we need.
On July 27 2011 12:00 sermokala wrote: My vikings are so screwed the QB we had went to seattle. He wasnt that good but a good QB is literaly the only standing inbetween the vikings being a superbowl contending team like 2 years ago to being a shitty joke like last year.
fml every year.
Well, I'm hoping you take McNabb off our hands for a draft pick...
Pretty good deal for the Vikes. McNabb was a probowler 2 years ago and I don't really think Ponder is ready to start yet.
49ers and Raiders are in a bidding war for DaShon Goldson which strikes me as odd... shouldn't the Raiders resign Michael Huff? I would think Huff > Goldson anyday so this strikes me as odd... guess the Raiders feel they can't afford Huff.
Oh yeah Takeo Spikes and his huge neck signed with the SD Chargers Gonna miss him. He was really underrated and a solid performer for the 3 years he was with the 49ers.
On July 27 2011 11:53 yrba1 wrote: Rams signed former Eagles S Quintin Mikell, I'm hoping they sign Barry Cofield next (hope the Redskins don't go after him)
Sources: Figuers on #Redskins agreement with former #Giants DL Barry Cofield: 6 years at $6 million per year. $12.5 million guaranteed.
On July 27 2011 12:00 sermokala wrote: My vikings are so screwed the QB we had went to seattle. He wasnt that good but a good QB is literaly the only standing inbetween the vikings being a superbowl contending team like 2 years ago to being a shitty joke like last year.
On July 27 2011 12:00 sermokala wrote: My vikings are so screwed the QB we had went to seattle. He wasnt that good but a good QB is literaly the only standing inbetween the vikings being a superbowl contending team like 2 years ago to being a shitty joke like last year.
fml every year.
Try being 24, a New York Jets fan, a New York Mets fan,a New York Knicks fan.
3 sports 3 teams 0 championships in that time, i don't even know what its like FML
Briefly on the Jets with the off season. First of all the jets have 19 FA and just a TON of work to be done with very little time, with that being said the Jets coaching staff is the same 100% as it was last year... Well almost: we all remember this + Show Spoiler +
But with the same coaching staff once their roster is set and printed it will be right back in it.Mr T. (Mike Tannabaum) is the best or one of the best GMs in the league.He is a genius at restructuring contracts and playing the cap perfectly.it doesn't hurt that almost every free agent has went on the record wanting to play for Rex and the Jets.I think the top 3 prioritys for him rite now is:
-Sign Santonio Holmes. -Throw a decent contract at Asumwa,He did say he would love to come here, he might take a little pay cut who knows.If you can't get him, resign Antonio Cromartie. -Sign Sean Ellis to a one year deal so he can bring up our 1st round draft pick for a year, then let him retire as one of the longest carrers anyone has had as a Jet.
With the regular season i would think the Jets should go 10-5 make the playoffs with a 5 or 6 seed and make another run.Me being the pessimistic sports fan i am, never high hopes in the playoffs,but its nice to be talking football again.Was a long 130 day lockout ha.
I'll throw my chips at Packers vs. Patriots in the Super Bowl. Both teams will be better this year than last year as well, lets not forget the PATS were the clear cut the best team in NFL before we upset them in the 2nd round(finally).
EPT
Gonna miss him. He was really underrated and a solid performer for the 3 years he was with the 49ers.
